The Human Experience: Of Angels and Impalas
by VirendraLione
Summary: A one-shot I wrote for myself because it was fun. Might be the first in a series of One-Shots where Castiel gets used to life after heaven. Reviews are love. Rated T for swearing...


_I do not own Supernatural, Castiel, Dean, Sam or any of the other characters I might mention in this fan fiction, I am just obsessing over Supernatural at the moment and need to keep myself satiated…_

_This is a one-shot (Maybe the first in a series of one-shots) about Castiel discovering different things about life after heaven. I decided to start with the car after watching the episode, Abandon All Hope, in which Lucifer asks Castiel about arriving in an automobile. A bit of randomness, but I wanted to write it so I did. Enjoy!_

**The Human Experience; Of fallen angels and Impalas.**

"Castiel, I'm told you came here in an automobile."

Lucifer took a calculated step to the side as if he were about to start circling the trapped angel. He gave a slight smile as Castiel's deadpan expression faltered a little in confusion.

"Yes…"

"What was that like?"

Castiel's brow furrowed momentarily, unaware of the exact motive behind Lucifer's questions.

"Um…Slow. Confining."

That was the truth. Riding anywhere in a car _was_ slow and confining but Castiel didn't mind it half as much as everyone thought he did. They thought they saw resignation and disappointment on his face whenever they mentioned driving, but they were wrong.

Castiel actually enjoyed being driven places and he particularly enjoyed the Impala. The hum of the engine, the smell of the exhaust fumes, being able to feel every pothole in the surface of the road as the Impala's suspension struggled to keep it together at the speeds Dean drove…Secretly Castiel loved it.

Castiel, at first, thought this peculiar liking of cars had come from Jimmy, but thinking back he couldn't remember anything that suggested the man had been a complete petrol-head. Sure he had had a car, but it seemed to Castiel that it had been only out of necessity that he had owned one.

The fallen angel ran a gentle hand along the Impala's right wing, savouring the cool-to-the-touch metal in contrast with the hot and humid night time air around him. He continued along the hood of the car and ran his fingers along the edge of the windscreen, registering the slight difference in texture and temperature between the metal and the glass.

He hesitated for a second or two as a thought crossed his mind, immediately turning to glance across the parking lot towards the Winchesters' motel room. The curtains were drawn and the lighting within the room was dim, a bed side table lamp, perhaps, as opposed to the main ceiling light. This probably meant the boys were turning in. Sam was probably still doing research but Castiel was confident that they would not be watching him.

A small smile tugged at his lips as he found himself seated in the driver's seat. He had almost impaled himself on the steering wheel on arrival in the car and dug around under the seat just as he had watched Dean do after every time he had let his younger (and yet noticeably taller) brother drive the car. Castiel's hand closed around a small lever and tentatively he pulled it upwards. The seat shot backwards, surprising the angel. He glimpsed fearfully across to the motel room again, wondering whether this small mistake was enough to wake the brothers. The curtain was still, the light level the same. Castiel found himself releasing a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

Carefully he readjusted the seat and brought it forward a little, locating a small handle to the side of the seat which he knew would adjust the back of the chair. He pulled this gently and felt pressure on his back as the springs were activated. The angel leant back slightly and released the handle. The seat gave an obedient click and set itself as per instructed. He took hold of the steering wheel with both hands and gently ran his fingers around it. He savoured the texture of the leather beneath his fingers and took in every weave of the stitching on the inside seam. For some reason, Castiel found himself imagining what it would feel like to drive the automobile and he wondered how many angels had actually ever driven a car. He shook these thoughts from his head, knowing that Dean would never trust him to drive his car; he barely trusted Sam and he was his own brother. The angel's hands dropped from the steering wheel.

Looking around, Castiel's eyes found the stereo and he reach a tentative hand forth, turning the small dial that was the volume control. He found that nothing happened and for a second felt cheated and disappointed. Then he remembered Dean once scolding Sam for leaving the ignition on so he could listen to the radio whilst the car was parked. This had resulted in a flat battery and a rather embarrassing call to Bobby since they had been in the middle of nowhere with no other cars or people for miles.

The angel tilted his head to the side a little and ran a cautious hand down the steering column until he found the rectangular hole where Dean inserted the key. He concentrated and for a moment nothing happened. Then, just as he brought his hand away from the key hole, the engine roared into life and the stereo did the same, blasting out AC/DC's, Highway to Hell as loud as the speakers would allow.

Castiel jumped and reached for the volume control, staring, with wide, fretful eyes, at the motel rooms as lights flickered on and people appeared in doorways.

His shaking hand brushed the volume control in the wrong direction and before he could rectify this, the door to Sam and Dean's motel room began to open.

The angel did the only thing he could think of and vanished.

* * *

Dean practically leapt across the parking lot towards his baby, ignoring the shouting from the other guests as they demanded to know what the hell he was thinking; making all that noise in the middle of the night.

His eyes narrowed as he tried the door only to find it was as locked as he had left it. He glanced across at the steering column and saw that there was no key. Sam appeared behind him and squinted in through one of the back windows, cupping his hands against the glass. Pushing away from the window, he handed Dean the car keys and watched as the older Winchester unlocked the door, slid into the seat, inserted the key into the ignition and turned off the engine.

The car went silent and Dean only wished he could say the same thing for the mob of angry motel guests.

Climbing from the car, he and Sam shouted hasty apologies across to them and for the most part this satisfied them; the majority disappeared back into their rooms. Dean held out his hands as if in surrender to the remaining guests.

"Sorry!" He called, "Faulty electrics!"

He knew this didn't make sense but he really couldn't have cared less. He locked the car door and rounded the side, locating the battery. After a few minutes he straightened up and raised an eyebrow at Sam, wondering why his brother was wearing a wide grin and stifling laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Dean demanded, a growl bubbling in his throat. "Some random son of a bitch is messing with my baby and you're laughing!"

Sam reached forward and placed a calming hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Dean, think about it…" Sam smiled, raising his eyebrows at his older brother, coaxing him to think harder, "The doors were locked, nothing's missing…It couldn't have been a demon…" His voice trailed off as realisation dawned in Dean's eyes.

"Cas?" Dean concluded, all at once wondering what business their tag-along angel would have had with the Impala at all.

Sam gave a nod and removed his hand, running it absent-mindedly through his hair as he began to head back to the room.

Dean stood staring at his pride and joy for a few seconds, trying to pick out in the near non-existent light, any scratches or imperfections that might have appeared since he last went near the car. He rubbed at a smudge to the side of the windscreen and wondered whether angels could leave fingerprints. After a few more seconds, the older Winchester seemed satisfied with the condition of the vehicle and joined his brother in the doorway of their room.

"I'll kill him." Dean hissed, his frown faltering a little as Sam shook his head. The younger Winchester's grin twitched as if he wanted to widen it, but his face muscles forbade it. Dean's expression softened, catching on to Sam's train of thought, a devious smile creeping to his face.

* * *

Sam handed Dean his bag and watched as his older brother placed it into the trunk. Dean locked the compartment and moved to the driver's side door. He opened it and was about to get in when the sound of wings heralded the arrival of a decidedly rattled Castiel. Dean turned to the angel and gave a frown, taking in his shaken demeanour.

"What happened to you, Cas?" He asked, rhetorically.

Sam piped up, trying his best to mimic his brother's expression, "Yeah, you're late."

"And you look like hell." Dean added, sliding into his seat.

Sam folded himself into the Impala and wound down the window, leaning his arm on the edge.

"You coming, Cas?" Sam asked, noticing the glimmer of relief in Castiel's eyes.

The angel gave a slight nod and appeared in the back of the car. His blue eyes darted around nervously, trying to ascertain whether he had damaged anything by accident. He was trying to be discreet but Sam noticed. He gave a smug smile.

Dean was busy readjusting the driver's seat.

"Hey Sam, when was the last time you drove?"

"I don't remember. Why?"

Dean's brow furrowed and he made a point of giving Sam an accusatory glare.

"Someone's moved my seat."

"Well, it wasn't me."

Sam affected a defensive tone and glanced at Castiel, who seemed to be looking more nervous by the second.

Dean gave a short shrug of his shoulders and finished adjusting his seat. He slid the key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened.

The older Winchester gave a sigh in frustration and climbed from the car, offering only the words, "The battery." as explanation.

Castiel frowned a little, already regretting the question he was about to ask, "What's wrong with the battery?"

"Nothing. Dean just disconnected it last night." Sam answered, giving a genuine smile.

The angel pressed further, "Why did Dean disconnect the battery?"

Dean seated himself back in the car and took it upon himself to answer the question, "Because the car decided to turn itself on at 3.30 this morning and wake everybody up with the stereo!" He laced anger into his voice purposefully.

"How would that happen?" Castiel queried, shakily, attentively watching the brothers for any signs that they might know.

Dean gave a shrug and Sam followed suit.

"I don't know; maybe I've gotta glitch in the electrics or something…It's either that or there was some random son of a bitch out here last night, looking for trouble." He paused a moment, turning to the angel on the back seat, taking in every delicious drop of panic in his eyes. "And I'm telling you, if it was some random dick then he'd better not try touching my baby again or I'm gonna tear him a new one." He finished with a determined nod.

Castiel's breath caught in his throat and he blinked slowly for composure. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Dean turned the ignition on and once again Highway to Hell emanated from the speakers at an ear-drum bursting volume. Sam's hands flew up to his ears and even Dean made an elaborate pantomime of jumping at the sheer volume. He reached for the control and turned it down.

"Why do you have to have the stereo so loud in the first place?" Sam shouted in annoyance.

Dean threw up his hands in defence, "I don't ever turn it up that loud…Not since you've been with me, anyway."

Sam shook his head and looked away. Dean pulled the car out of the parking lot and turned right onto a busy main street.

A few minutes passed before Sam looked round at Castiel. The angel seemed to be having some inward discussion of epic proportions; his eyes were wide and fretful and he kept closing them for longer than was necessary and on occasion his lips would twitch as if he were about to say something but kept thinking better of it.

Sam couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. Dean began to laugh too, earning them a bewildered frown from Castiel.

"What's so funny?" The angel asked innocently.

"Well, would you look at that, Sammy?" Dean teased.

Sam laughed harder and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Looks like you can scare angels after all…"

Castiel's frown deepened and fear and guilt welled up in him again as it suddenly became clear to him that the Winchesters had known all along.

Dean found Castiel's gaze in the mirror and winked at him, an impish smile on his face.


End file.
